Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies FdSc

UCAS code C606

Duration

2 Years

Location

Stoke-on-Trent campus

Learn how to assess, manage and treat neuromusculoskeletal problems with rehabilitation and manual therapies on our two-year foundation degree. The course utilises a range of industry-leading technologies and facilities to provide outstanding educational experiences.

During the course, you’ll learn about bones (human osteology), muscles (myology), ligaments and joints (arthrology), and be introduced to sports assessment and massage techniques. You’ll develop a fundamental understanding of exercise prescription for the non-injured and injured athlete.

This course is suitable for students who have recently completed A-levels or BTEC qualifications and want to pursue a career in sport, and those who have worked in industry and are looking to upskill or change careers.

After successful completion of the two-year FdSc Rehabilitation and Manual therapies course, students who meet the pre-requisites can top-up to our Sports Therapy BSc (or other Sport and Exercise BSc top up courses).

The course is perfect if you want to become a Sports Massage Therapist, or would like to study our Sports Therapy BSc but do not meet the entry criteria.

On successful completion of study, we will issue the following award: FdSc Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies

Work placements

The Sport and Exercise Department works with local, regional and national employers alongside international university partners to provide students with placement and work experience opportunities both in the UK and abroad. Whilst a formal placement is not a mandatory requirement of students on the FdSc Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies course, it is highly recommended. Students who top up on the BSc Sports Therapy course will be required to gather 200 placement hours.

During levels 4 and 5 the students can participate in placement type activities. These activities are ‘internal’ which are supervised and potentially hosted by Staffordshire University. Students gain valuable practical experience within our dedicated patient facing clinic (SUST Clinic) whilst also represententing the degree and Staffordshire University at many national sporting events throughout the year.

Course content

During the first year of study on the FdSc Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies course, you will study upper limb anatomy, lower limb anatomy, exercise programming and prescription, clinical assessment and manual therapies. You will also review scientific literature and conduct research.

These modules will be progressed in year two, where you will study peripheral joint assessment, spinal joint assessment, exercise rehabilitation, systematically reviewing literature, conducting rigorous research and an elective module.

Modules

The tables provide an indicative list of the modules that make up the course for the current academic year. Each module is worth a specified number of credits. Our teaching is informed by research, and modules change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline. We aim to ensure that all modules run as scheduled. If for any reason a module cannot be run we will advise you as soon as possible and will provide guidance on selecting an appropriate alternative module where available.

Entry requirements

Typical UCAS Offer: 48 points

We understand that you might have experienced a challenging run up to higher education and may have not met the entry requirements as listed. If this is the case don’t worry, contact us and our team of expert advisors can guide you through the next stages of application, or help you find the perfect course for your needs.

For equivalent entry requirements in your home country, please see the information on our country pages.

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Check our entry and English language requirements for your country.

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Facilities

Body Composition Lab

The Body Composition Lab enables accurate assessment of body composition analysis in support of the Sport & Exercise awards programme. Read more

Find out more about our Body Composition Lab. 

Exercise Physiology and Human Performance Laboratories

The Exercise Physiology and Human Performance laboratories enable the conduction of a range of physiological and nutrition-based exercise tests for health and sports performance. Read more

Find out more

Sport and Exercise Bodily Fluids Laboratory

A laboratory offering a range of bodily fluid tests that can be used to monitor health and disease status, sports performance, and muscular injury. Read more

Find out more about our Sport and Exercise Bodily Fluids Laboratory

Strength and Conditioning Laboratory

A lab dedicated to the practical delivery of strength and conditioning modules within the Sport and Exercise award programmes. Read more

Find out more about our Strength and Conditioning Laboratory

Careers

After completing your FdSc qualification, you’ll be equipped to take on positions such as being a Sports Massage Therapist, as well as working in injury clinics alongside sports therapists, physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors.

If you are to complete our BSc Sports Therapy Top-Up, there are a number of career paths you could pursue, these include but are not limited to:

  • Sports Therapist
  • Sport and Exercise Scientist
  • Strength and Conditioning

All students have access to Career Connect, our dedicated careers team.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

A range of learning and teaching strategies will be employed to suit the various types of learners, and to meet the needs of the specific learning outcomes of the modules. Typically, lectures are supported by smaller-group seminars, workshops and laboratory practicals, which are led by staff or students. Students are also given independent learning activities. Where appropriate, student learning is supported by materials, tasks and activities, which are provided via a virtual learning environment. Much of our teaching utilises digital technology including advanced use of iPads, tablets and students’ own devices as part of our teaching and learning strategy.

The balance of lecture to tutorial/seminar/practical time is a deliberate effort to allow theoretical and generic knowledge taught in lectures to be given context and meaning in real-world scenarios, which are achieved using case studies, research data, the students’ own experience and discovery learning approaches. Within FdSc Rehabilitation and Manual Therapies, students will engage in practical sessions, to ensure that they learn relevant techniques. Emphasis will be very much on an applied approach, where students will be able to gain “hands on” experience in a clinical and sports setting.

Taught sessions will be created and delivered by mixed gender teaching staff, who come from a wide variety of backgrounds. The course will also utilise external partners and Visiting Fellow’s who themselves come from a range of backgrounds. Learning resources will contain a range of examples of people from a wide range of backgrounds with protected characteristics.

Assessment

The course content is varied and allows students to explore different aspects of society and culture when completing assessments. As per the University Assessment Policy, we ensure that assessment tasks and procedures are designed to be inclusive and do not disadvantage any group or individual. The course includes a variety of assessment methods across modules to showcase the students’ diverse experiences, knowledge, skills and background. We adopt an innovative and diverse range of assessments including oral presentations, write essays, conduct laboratory practical, write reports, and work under examination conditions.

Learning support

Outside of academic support, the Academic Mentor can act as a facilitator of support and may refer students for support services within specialist area/teams/departments within the university. The most notable of these are Library & Academic Skills Team, Graduate Careers and Employability Team, Student wellbeing, ‘AccessAbility’ Services, International Student Support.

Additional support

‘AccessAbility’ Services: This team is made up of Disability Support Coordinators, Disability Administrators and Sessional Assessors, who aim to support and assist anyone with a disability, including specific learning difficulties, mental health needs and with physical and unseen disabilities.

Feedback

The course includes a variety of assessment methods across modules to showcase the students’ diverse knowledge, skills and academic background. There are opportunities for students to undertake formative assessment so that they can practise and receive feedback on the necessary skills or learning tasks, which can inform their learning and development in preparation for the modules’ summative assessment. Feedback may be received in the form of verbal or written feedback.

Face to face contact time each week of the academic year is approximately 12 hours. Students will spend most of their time in practical sessions due to the nature of the course, therefore giving them plenty of learning opportunities to enhance their practical skills. Students are also encouraged to use our clinics outside of the teaching schedule to enable them to refine their skills further. These skills will be taught in the curriculum, but students are able to showcase them in real life situations within our internal sports therapy clinic and placements. The balance of lecture to tutorial/seminar/practical time is a deliberate effort to allow theoretical and generic knowledge taught in lectures to be given context and meaning in real-world scenarios, which are achieved using case studies, research data, the students’ own experience and discovery learning approaches. Emphasis will be very much on an applied approach, where students will be able to gain “hands on” experience.

Year 1

23% of time in lectures, seminars or similar
77% of time in independent study
0% of time in work based learning

Year 2

26% of time in lectures, seminars or similar
74% of time in independent study
0% of time in work based learning

Independent learning

Students will be expected to undertake independent lecturer led learning activities, including but not limited to, revision of material, practice of practical handling skills, reading evidence and litertature and creating digital content using the telehealth facilities. Students will also be expected to perform independent student led learning activities, such as reading around a topic, practicing technical skills and handling techniques, and revision among others.

Timetables

Students will be timetabled to specialist subject rooms including the teaching clinics, telehealth hub, rehabilitation zone, physiology lab, biomechanics lab and other sport and exercise facilities. These facilities will be bookable and available to students at set times for independent learning activities.

Year 1

57% practical assessments
33% coursework
10% written exams

Year 2

62% practical assessments
38% coursework
0% written exams

Staff

Edward Stanhope

Senior Lecturer

Edward is a graduate Sports Therapist and researcher. He specialises in exercise in people with non-communicable diseases, specifically the effects of exercise in women diagnosed with breast cancer throughout the stages of their care continuum.

Edward's profile

Rebecca Warnett

Senior Lecturer

Rebecca is course lead and a senior lecturer in Sports Therapy. Since graduating in 2014 from Staffordshire University with a degree in Sports Therapy she has worked in football, ran her own sports injury clinic alongside lecturing. 

Rebecca's profile

Fees

For the course starting on 22 September 2025 the tuition fees are:

Tuition fees for FdSc-Full-time
Study option UK / Channel Islands International
Full-time £9,535 per year of study £16,750 per year of study

UK and Channel Island students: This tuition fee is agreed subject to UK government policy and parliamentary regulation. If the UK government passes appropriate legislation, the fee for subsequent years of study may increase in each academic year. But this increase will not exceed the rate of inflation as measured by RPIX**. Any change in fees will apply to both new and continuing students. The University will notify students of any change as early as possible. Further information about fee changes would be posted on the University’s website once this becomes available.

**RPIX is a measure of inflation equivalent to all the items in the Retail Price Index (RPI) excluding mortgage interest payments.

Accommodation and living costs
Accommodation and living costs

Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Sources of financial support

If you receive funding from Student Finance you may be eligible to apply for additional benefits. Details can be obtained by reading our additional funding web pages, or visiting www.gov.uk.

Scholarships and additional funding

Staffordshire University Sport’s High-Performance Academy aims to provide the best possible personalised schemes for highly talented athletes, coaches and officials and their individual needs.

We offer three schemes, one scholarship scheme, the Performance Athlete Scholarship Scheme (PASS) and two development schemes , the Talented Athlete Development Scheme (TADS) and our Coaching & Officiating Development Scheme (CODS).

For more information, click here.

Apply

Location Award Study option Start date Apply Link
Stoke-on-Trent campus FdSc Full-time 22 September 2025 Apply now

Rules and regulations

If you are offered a place at University of Staffordshire, your offer will be subject to our rules, regulations and enrolment conditions, which may vary from time to time.

Students of University of Staffordshire enter into a contract with us and are bound by these rules and regulations, which are subject to change. For more information, please see: University Policies and Regulations.

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